Internet users typically use a program called an internet browser or simply browser to navigate the Internet and locate web content that is of interest to the user. Browsers are also often used for accessing web-page type resources on local intranets. Two well known browser programs are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
To view a web site the user will typically enter a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) into the browser program. The URL acts as an Internet address and the browser will access the web page or network resource located at that address and make it accessible to the user, generally by displaying it in the browser window.
Users may also search for content of interest by using web directories, search engines and portals. A search will usually be performed using keywords and will return a list of hyperlinks to URLs for web pages returned in the search. Unfortunately this type of search will often return a lot of junk and a user will have to expend a lot of effort to find the web content they were actually looking for.
The tools provided on browser programs to store and categorize web pages that the user has visited are rudimentary at best and usually comprise a simple static list of addresses or URLs such as, for example, Internet Explorer “Favorites” or Navigator “Bookmarks”. So once a user has completed their research, they have no way of storing their hard won list of useful sites apart from such a static list. There is also no way of sharing their playlist of useful sites. It also means there is no easy way to create a presentation of web pages displayed in real time.
Such static lists are limited in that there is no flow, commentary, or timing information associated with the list. They are also limited because accessing each site in the list is manual and cumbersome.
While systems have been proposed that would allow a user to record a browsing session in real time so that it can be slavishly replayed later, it would be useful to provide a system that allowed a user to selectively capture a sequence of web pages and/or other network resources and that would allow for flexible replay of the sequence via easy to use controls.